The Timbers will face their Northwest rivals in the first-ever Major League Soccer regular season game between the two teams Saturday night at Qwest Field on national television.

"It's a big game, a rivalry game," defender Jeremy Hall Said. "It's the game of the season so far. Everybody has been waiting for it."

The Timbers (4-3-1, 13 points) and Sounders (3-3-4, 13 points) are tied in the standings and possess very similar statistics for goals scored and allowed. Portland defeated Seattle 2-0 in a preseason game March 4, but that was the preseason.

The Timbers will enter the game against Seattle on a bit of a roll. They have won two consecutive league games and four of their last five MLS games. All of those wins occurred at Jeld-Wen Field, where the Timbers are unbeaten and have outscored opponents 9-4.

But the game between Portland and Seattle will be a road trip for the Timbers, and those games have not gone nearly as well. The Timbers are winless (0-3-1) in four road games and have been outscored 9-2 in those road games.

"This is a good opportunity for us," Hall said. "We want to prove we can win on the road."